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Apple Watch Series 12: My three favorite new features so far
I upgraded to an Apple Watch Series 12 last week, and so far after a few days of testing there are three standout features for me.
The Apple Watch was overdue for a chip update, with Apple skipping any changes last year and not having any true performance upgrades since the S9.
I’m happy to report that the new S11 chip appears much faster and more capable than its predecessor, the S10.
Everyday tasks on Apple Watch Series 12 just feel fast. And Siri AI, a tentpole addition in watchOS 27, very much feels made for this latest hardware. Siri has been sluggish on older hardware in my testing, but it performs much more like I’d hoped on Series 12.
The new Health Sensing System should make Apple Watch Series 12 better at tracking key metrics like heart rate and steps. But this isn’t a case where accuracy is the only improvement.
Because of the new health sensors, Series 12 offers three complications not available before:
These let you see up-to-date readings on your current heart rate, step count, and readiness score right from your watch face.
I’ve been testing heart rate and step complications, but my Watch needs more data before readiness is available. Overall though, these are very welcome additions that meaningfully improve the Apple Watch’s health and wellness feature set.
Apple Watch Series 12 offers largely the same battery life as Series 11, though it will last 25% longer for outdoor workouts.
More battery is always nice, but I’m especially a fan of the faster charging available on Series 12. Here’s how it stacks up to Series 11: